Apparatus for applying nail heads to fabrics and the like



June 29, 1965 L. lTALlANO 3,191,340

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING NAIL HEADS TO FABRICS AND THE LIKE I Filed Oct.24, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 43 42 INVENTOR, [Aw/W716i [mum/ SA'E'TO FENEY-June 29, 1965 1 ITALIANO 3,191,840

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING NAIL HEADS TO FABRICS AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. 24,1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.H

F|GJ|3 s8 FIG.I5

INVENTOR, [AW/P6066 [mm/0,

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,191,349 APPARATUS FGR AFPLYENG NALLHEADS Ti) FABRICS AND TI-E LIKE Lawrence Italiano, New Hyde Park, N31,assignor to National Die and Button Mold (30., inc, New York,

N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Get. 24, 1963, Ser. No. 318,663 4Claims. (Cl. 227114) The present invention relates to apparatus forapplying nail heads onto fabrics and the like. A nail head in thisinstance is a metal element having a plurality of unidirectionalbendable prongs which are passed through a fabric and then bent overagainst the fabrics back surface. A group of such nail heads are somounted, to make a decorative arrangement on the fabrics outer surface.

This invention contemplates that a supply of nail heads dumped into ahopper will be delivered from a chute one at a time in uniform positionover an anvil supporting the fabric. Then the operator actuates aplunger to drive the delivered nail head through the fabric and finally,in cooperation with the anvil, plunger movement will cause the nailheads prongs to be bent over as required.

An object of this invention is to provide novel nail head mountingapparatus having means to control the delivered nail head so that it isautomatically properly held and conveyed from the time it leaves thedelivery chute to the completion of the bending of its prongs, withoutmanually touching the nail head from the time it is put into the hopper.Heretofore, some manual manipulation of the nail head was unavoidable.

Another object thereof is to provide novel apparatus of the characterdescribed, which uses elongated nail heads, and as an important exampleof such, I have shown nail heads which have the appearance of bugleheads when mounted onto a fabric. (A bugle bead is a tubular glass pieceabout of an inch in diameter and about of an inch long and is sewn ontothe fabric by a thread through the bead, stitched to the fabric.)

A further object thereof is to provide a means in such apparatus whichwill avoid damage to the mechanism and the work, if the plunger isactuated while a nail head is only partially extending from the deliverychute. Full delivery of the nail head out of the chute may have beenprevented because it is stuck in the chute, or in the event plungeractuation was prematurely eifected. In such instances, provision is madeherein that nail head shall be ejected from the apparatus by plungermovement.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide nail headmounting apparatus of the character mentioned and of novel construction,having a new mode of operation, and which is simple in structure,reasonable in cost, easy to operate and efficient in carrying out thepurposes for which it is designed.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as this disclosureproceeds.

For the practice of this invention, one form it may assume, is to havean upright-normally raised driver or plunger to cooperate with a fixeda-nvil below as in a press, to push a nail head through a fabric restingon the anvil and then bend in the prongs of such nail head. Also, thereis a chute or feed track delivering upright nail heads horizontally froma hopper-fed orienting device; the nail head which leaves said chute,being received in a normally horizontal niche in the upper surface of afinger which is part of a spring-biased swingably mounted member. Theplunger in its downward movement, causes a sleeve it is in, tofrictionally receive the nail head deposited on said finger, then as acam, said sleeve will swing the temporary holding member so its fingeris out of the way. The plunger continues downward until the nail headcarried by its associated sleeve, is mounted on the work piece on theanvil; the exit end of the chute being closed by said sleeve as theplunger proceeds downwardly and of course, such exit is opened uponreturn of the plunger to its normal raised position and the fingerreturns to normal raised position and receives the next nail head out ofthe chute. The press may be foot-operated as herein illustrated or maybe one which is power driven with known provision that upon eachtriggering by the operator, the ram will make one completereciprocation.

The nail head support at the very end of the exit opening of said chute,is a spring-biased trap door. This safety means may be included to allowejection of a nail head which is not fully out of the chute upon thedownward movement of the plunger. Ejection of the incorrectly placednail head in such instance is automatically accomplished.

A more detailed description will now be given of a preferred embodimentof this invention, for which reference will be had to the accompanyingdrawings in which similar characters of notation indicate correspondingparts in all the views.

FIG. 1 is an enlarged perspective view showing a nail head of elongatedform, which when applied to a fabric or other sheeting, simulates abugle bead.

FIG. 2 shows the face of a fabric piece on which a number of such nailheads have been attached in a decorative formation.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a preferred form of an apparatus embodying theteachings of thisinvention, for applying nail heads onto a fabric or thelike. Here, the apparatus is shown in normal rest condition.

FIG. 4 is a side View of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the discharge endportion of the feed track or chute from which the nail heads leave.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the member which initially receives thenail head from the chute and holds it until the sleeve on the plungergets hold of it upon downward movement of the plunger.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the plunger and its associatedspring-biased sleeve.

FIG. 8 is a side view of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a section taken at line 99 in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a bottom view of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary diagrammatic front view of the apparatus ofFIG. 2 at normal rest position, showing a nail head discharged from thechute in proper position onto the finger of the temporary holdingmember.

' FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 11, showing that the sleeve in thedownward movement of the plunger, has taken the nail head from thetemporary holder and has shifted said holder out of the way, so thatupon further downward movement, said plunger will bring the nail head tothe work on the anvil.

FIG. 13 is a view like FIG. 11, but here the nail head instead of beingfully discharged onto the temporary holding member, remains partlywithin the chute.

FIG. 14 is a view like'FIG. 13, but here the plunger has moved down someand the improperly-placed nail head has become dislodged from both thesleeve and the chute.

FIG. 15 is a similar view, but here the plunger has moved furtherdownwardly and the nail head has been further shifted so that upon thereturn stroke of the plunger, such nail head will be automaticallydiscarded from the apparatus.

In the drawing, the numeral 15 indicates generally a press which may bea foot press operated by the foot pedal lever 16. The ram 17 carries aplunger 18 which is a shank adapted to cooperate with an 'anvil 19 fixedbelow it on the press bed 20. In normal rest position, the ram is raisedas shown in FIG. 3. There is a chute or feed track 21 which is fixed tothe press frame, adapted to discharge nail heads 22 horizontally from apowerdriven, hopper-fed orienting device designated generally by thenumeral 23; the nail head leaving such chute, being received in ahorizontal niche 24 in the top face of a normally horizontallypositioned finger 25 of a number 26 which is swingably mounted to frameon the fixed axis 27; said member 26 being biased by the blade spring28. The finger 25 is between the plunger 18 and the anvil 19, so thatupon downward movement of the ram 17, the lower end of a sleeve on theplunger will frictionally receive therein the nail head 22 resting onthe finger 25, move the temporary carrying member 26 out 7 of the wayand finally the plunger will force the prongs 29 of the nail headthrough the work 30 on the anvil i9 and then cooperate with a die cavity31 in said anvil, to bend the prongs 29 against the back surface of thework 30 which is a fabric piece or other pierceable sheeting. Said slevewhich is generally indicated by the numeral 32 is the means to transporta nail head to the anvil 19, and in the embodiment illustrated, it alsoserves as the means to shift the temporary holder 25 out of the way ofthe plunger 18 when the latter is to get to the anvil. device 23, intowhose hopper 33, nail heads like 22 are dumped,'includes anelectrically-operated, load-agitating means 34, regulated by turning thecontrol knob 35 of a rheostat. This device orients the nail heads anddelivers them in succession down the feed track or chute 21 so that inthe horizontal end portion 21 of said chute, the prongs 29 of the nailheads therein, are downward, that is, the nail heads are there, upright.Such parts feeders are well known and are commercial products of suchfirms as Vibratory Feeder Co., of Erie, Pa., and Syntron Company, ofHomer City, Pa.

The chute 21 is a tubular structure having inside dimensions suitable toguide the oriented nail heads properly positioned, one after the other.The chutes end por- The tion 21' is horizontal and its discharge end isagainst the tip end of the finger 25, so that a nail head dischargedtherefrom, shall enter the niche 24 in the top surface of said finger.The member 26 at its finger tip end, has a tooth or lug 36 which acts asa stop against the underside of the chute body at 37. The numeral 38denotes a trap door in the floor wall of the horizontal chute portion21", which extends to the very mouth of the chute wherefrom discharge ofthe nail head occurs. This trap door is biased by the blade spring 39and its axis of swing is the pin 38'; the free end of said trap doorbeing at the mouth of the chute. In normal position, said trap doorelement 38, supports the nail head which is leaving the chute, to enterthe niche in the finger 25.

The plunger and sleeve assembly designated generally by the numeral 40,comprises the plunger 18 which is a shank slidably fitted in the sleevemade up of the channel 41 which is closed by a lengthwise, rather thinblade spring 42 secured at its upper end to said channel body by thescrews 43. A pin 44 extends laterally from the plunger and fits slidablyin a lengthwise slot 45 in a channel wall. A compression coil spring 46about said plunger, acts against a collar 47 fixed on said plunger andagainst the upper end of said channel 41, so that normally, the plunger18 is withdrawn a bit upwardly into said sleeve structure, sufiicient toallow the nail head resting in the niche 24 of the temporary carryingmember 26 to enter into said sleeve upon downward movement of theplunger. The inner dimensions of said sleeve are such that the nail headwhen entered therein, fits therein and is frictionally held thereby..The plunger extends upwardly out of the sleeve structure, where itterminates in a suitable shank part 48 to be securely mounted on the ram17. The blade spring 42 has a bit of clearance towards the mouth end ofthe chute 21 towards which it can swing and its lower end is thinned butnot sharpened.

With the parts feeder device 23 loaded and working, the chute 21 issupplied thereby with a succession of nail heads 22 which are visiblethrough the slot and the niche 24 has received a nail head as shown inFIG. 11. Now the operator sets the work-piece 3% in proper position atopthe anvil 19 and actuates the press to bring its ram 17 downward. Theplunger assembly 40, in its downward movement with the ram, soon has itsblade spring 42 in sliding contact with the end face of the chute 21 andthe bottom edge of such blade spring coming in contact with left sideend of the nail head, acts cam-wise and shifts said nail head to theright in FIG. 11 a distance equal to the thickness of said blade and asthe plunger it; continues downward, said nail head which is in the nichewill be forced into the channel 41; the spring 28 being strong enough toallow such entry. Now, upon further downward movement of the plunger 18,the blade 42 will close the mouth of the chute 21 and the bottom end ofthe channel 41 will swing the member 26 out of the way as shown in FIG.12, so that now the nail head 22 being transported by the plungerassembly 40 will reach the work Til the prongs of such nail head willpierce the work and finally enter the die cavity 31 in the anvil, wheresuch prongs 29 will be bent against the back surface of the work-piece.It is to be noted that the bottom end of the channel 41 and the bottomend of the blade 42 clamp the work to the anvil 19, and it is theplunger 13, in its continued downward movement after the sleeve hasstopped, that actually pushes the nail head 22 to accomplish mountingthe said nail head. It is during such interval that the spring 46 isstressed.

Now the ram 17 is raised. The Work is released and the operator can setit on-the anvil to the next place where a. nail head is to be applied.The stressed coil spring 46 will cause the sleeve to return to itsnormal rest position on the plunger 18 as shown in FIG. 8. The mouth ofthe chute 21 has been opened and the temporary carrying member 26 hasbeen returned to its normal rest position by action of the stressedspring 28. As soon as the chute end has been cleared, a nail head passestherefrom into the niche 24 and the machine is ready for its next cycleof operation.

It is to be noted that the end edges of the nail heads are curved tofacilitate the camming action by the blade spring 42 to shift them forentry into the sleeve on the plunger 18, and that the length of theniche 24 is suflicient to allow such shift.

It is preferred to include the trap door 38 so that any nail head whichremains part way into the chute, shall be automatically ejected from themachine upon downward movement of the ram 17. Such improper placement ofthe nail head is shown at 22 in FIG. 13. Whenever this occurs, then upondownward movement of the ram, said nail head 22 will be tilted by thesleeve structure on the plunger 18, in the manner shown in FIG. 14, andupon further downward movement of the ram, said nail head will be forcedto turn the trap door 38 against action of the blade spring 39, andassume the position as shown in FIG. 15 Upon upward movement of the ramto normal rest position, said nail head 22 will be ejected when itbecomes freed from contact with the sleeve structure on the plunger andsubsequent return of the trap door 38 to its normal rest position byaction of the blade spring 39.

The length of the trap door element 38 does not exceed the length of anail head measured along the chute 21. if. the axis pin 58 issutficiently inward along the length of the trap door, then when suchdoor is open, its rearward portion 38 will enter the chute and halt thenail heads therein which are behind the one at chutes mouth.

This invention is capable of numerous forms and various applicationswithout departing from the essential features herein disclosed. It istherefore intended and desired that the embodiment shown herein shall bedeemed merely illustrative and not restrictive and that the patent shallcover all patentable novelty herein set forth; reference being had tothe following claims rather than to the specific description herein toindicate the scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. The combination with a press apparatus including a frame and anupright ram mounted on the frame for movement towards and away from abed fixed on said frame below said ram, of an upright plunger and sleeveassembly extending downwardly from said ram, a horironically-dischargingchute adapted to discharge upright nail heads in succession; said chutebeing fixed on said frame and having its discharge mouth in an uprig tplane to one side of said plunger and sleeve assembly so that ondownward movement of the ram, a portion of said plunger and sleeveassembly will cover said mouth, a member movably mounted on the frameand biased to a normal rest position where it extends in the path ofsaid plunger and sleeve assembly and is substantially in abutment withthe discharge mouth of said chute; said member having a niche in itsupper surface into which a nail head discharged from the chute willenter and be in position to be met by said plunger and sleeve assembly;and plunger and sleeve assembly comprising a sleeve slidably mounted ona plunger therein; said sleeve comprising a channel closed by alengthwise :blade spring fixed at its upper end to said channel andbendable away from said channel; said blade spring being the portion ofthe sleeve which covers the mouth of the chute when the ram is moveddownward; said plunger being an upright shank fmed to said ram; innormal rest position, the lower end of said plunger being upward in saidsleeve whereby the lower end of said sleeve is vacant and adapted toreceive a nail head from said niche for frictional fit therein upondownward movement of said ram; said sleeve being springbiased to itsnormal rest position on said plunger; means on said plunger and sleeveassembly to cause said moveable member to be shifted out of the way ofsaid assembly when the ram moves downwardly after said sleeve hasreceived a nail head from out of said niche, an anvil fixed on said bedto cooperate with said plunger when the ram is lowered suficiently, sothat the prongs of a nail head carried by the sleeve will pierce afabric resting on said anvil and be bent over against the underside offabric and means to move the nail heads in said chute towards the mouthof said chute.

2. The combination with a press apparatus including a frame and anupright ram mounted on the frame for movement towards and away from abed fixed on said frame below said ram, of an upright plunger and sleeveassembly extending downwardly from said ram, a horizontally-dischargingchute adapted to discharge upright nail heads in succession; said chutebeing fixed on said frame and having its discharge mouth in an uprightplane to one side of said plunger and sleeve assembly so that ondownward movement of the ram, a portion of said 6 plunger and sleeveassembly will cover said mouth, a member movably mounted on the frameand biased to a normal rest position where it extends in the path ofsaid plunger and sleeve assembly and is substantially in abut ment withthe discharge mouth of said chute; said member having a niche in itsupper surface into which a nail head discharged from the chute willenter and be in position to be met by said plunger and sleeve assembly;the wall ofthe chute for supporting the nail head at the mouth of saidchute, being a spring-biased trap door which is swingably mounted on ahorizontal axis away from the plane of the chutes mouth for a downwardmovement in the direction away from said movable member having theniche; said plunger and sleeve assembly comprising a sleeve slidablymounted on a plunger therein; said plunger being an upright shank fixedon said ram; in normal rest position, the lower end of said plungerbeing upward in said sleeve whereby the lower end of said sleeve isvacant and adapted to receive a nail head from said niche for frictionalfit therein upon downward movement of said ram; said sleeve being springbiased to its normal rest position on said plunger; means on saidplunger and sleeve assembly to cause said movable member to be shiftedout of the way of said assembly when the ram moves downwardly after saidsleeve has received a nail head from out of said niche, an anvil fixedon said bed to cooperate with said plunger when the ram is loweredsufliciently, so that the prongs of the nail head carried by the sleevewill pierce a fabric resting on said anvil and be bent over against theunderside of the fabric and means to move the nail heads in said chutetowards the mouth of said chute.

3. The combination as defined in claim 2, wherein the mentioned niche isadapted to receive an elongated nail head and the length of the trapdoor along the chute is substantially equal to the length of a nailhead.

4. The combination as defined in claim 2, wherein the axis of swing ofsaid trap door is inward of the length of said door along the chutewhereby on downward swing of the doors portion which extends from saidaxis to the mouth of the chute, the remaining portion of said door willcome into the chute.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 371,659 10/87Arnold 13 709,002 9/02 Draper 1-3 1,632,374 6/27 Havener 13 FOREIGNPATENTS 519,494 2/ 31 Germany. 531,568 8/31 Germany.

GRANVILLE Y. CUSTER, 1a., Primary Examiner.

1. THE COMBINATION WITH A PRESS APPARATUS INCLUDING A FRAME AND ANUPRIGHT RAM MOUNTED ON THE FRAME FOR MOVEMENT TOWARDS AND AWAY FROM ABEAD FIXED ON SAID FRAME BELOW SAID RAM, OF AN UPRIGHT PLUNGER ANDSLEEVE ASSEMBLY EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID RAM, AHORIZONTALLY-DISCHARGING CHUTE ADAPTED TO DISCHARGE UPRIGHT NAIL HEADSIN SUCCESSION; SAID CHUTE BEING FIXED ON SAID FRAME AND HAVING ITSDISCHARGE MOUTH IN AN UPRIGHT PLANE TO ONE SIDE OF SAID PLUNGER ANDSLEEVE ASSEMBLY SO THAT ON DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF THE RAM, A PORTION OFSAID PLUNGER AND SLEEVE ASSEMBLY WILL COVER SAID MOUTH, A MEMBER MOVABLYMOUNTED ON THE FRAME AND BIASED TO A NORMAL REST POSITION WHERE ITEXTENDS IN THE PATH OF SAID PLUNGER AND SLEEVE ASSEMBLY AND ISSUBSTANTIALLY IN ABUTMENT WITH THE DISCHARGE MOUTH OF SAID CHUTE; SAIDMEMBER HAVING A NICHE IN ITS UPPER SURFACE INTO WHICH A NAIL HEADDISCHARGED FROM THE CHUTE WILL ENTER AND BE IN POSITION TO BE MET BYSAID PLUNGER AND SLEEVE ASSEMBLY; AND PLUNGER AND SLEEVE ASSEMBLYCOMPRISING A SLEEVE SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON A PLUNGER THEREIN; SAID SLEEVECOMPRISING A CHANNEL CLOSED BY A LENGTHWISE BLADE SPRING FIXED AT ITSUPPER END TO SAID CHANNEL AND BENDABLE AWAY FROM SAID CHANNEL; SAIDBLADE BEING UPWARD IN SAID SLEEVE WHEREBY THE WHICH COVERS THE MOUTH OFTHE CHUTE WHEN THE RAM IS MOVED DOWNWARD; SAID PLUNGER BEING AN UPRIGHTSHANK FIXED TO SAID RAM; IN NORMAL REST POSITION, THE LOWER END OF SAIDPLUNGER BEING UPWARD IN SAID SLEEVE WHEREBY THE LOWER END OF SAID SLEEVEIS VACANT AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A NAIL HEAD FROM SAID NICHE FORFRITIONAL FIT THEREIN UPON DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID RAM; SAID SLEEVEBEING SPRINGBIASED TO ITS NORMAL REST POSITION ON SAID PLUNGER; MEANS ONSAID PLUNGER AND SLEEVE ASSEMBLY TO CAUSE SAID MOVEABLE MEMBER TO BESHIFTED OUT OF THE WAY OF SAID ASSEMBLY WHEN THE RAM MOVES DOWNWARDLYAFTER SAID SLEEVE HAS RECEIVED A NAIL HEAD FROM OUT OF SAID NICHE, ANANVIL FIXED ON SAID BED TO COOPERATE WITH SAID PLUNGER WHEN THE RAM ISLOWERED SUFFICIENTLY, SO THAT THE PRONGS OF A NAIL HEAD CARRIED BY THESLEEVE WILL PIERCE A FABRIC RESTING ON SAID ANVIL AND BE BENT OVERAGAINST THE UNDERSIDE OF FABRIC AND MEANS TO MOVE THE NAIL HEADS IN SAIDCHUTE TOWARDS THE MOUTH OF SAID CHUTE.